Category: Minnesota T-Wolves Blog

The Minnesota Timberwolves will host “Flip Saunders Night” at home in Target Center on Thursday, February 15. The visiting team for that game is the Lakers.

That night, the Timberwolves will unveil a permanent banner in Target Center to honor the memory of Flip.

“Flip meant so much to our organization as a coach, but he meant so much more to all of us as a friend,” said Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. “His impact on our organization and what he meant to the Minnesota basketball community is something that will always be with us. It is appropriate that we honor the man who meant so much to us with of a banner in our home arena that will forever fortify his memory.”

All fans in attendance will receive a Flip Saunders commemorative coin. The back story behind giving a coin is this: One of Flip’s trademarks during his tenure with the Wolves was to create a new team coin each season for players and front office staff, then randomly give them to people he would encounter as a way to include fans on that season’s journey.

“Minnesota has always been our family’s home”, said Debbie Saunders, widow of Flip Saunders. “Flip not only had a passion for the Timberwolves but for basketball in the State of Minnesota. We are incredibly grateful to the Timberwolves for memorializing Flip in such a moving way and having his memory live on inside Target Center forever.”

Saunders compiled an overall record of 427-392 (.521) in 12 seasons covering two different stints with the organization.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Amile Jefferson to a two-way contract.

Jefferson, 24, has played in 22 games this season for the Iowa Wolves, the Timberwolves’ NBA G League affiliate, averaging 18.0 points and a league-best 13.1 rebounds per contest while shooting 64.0% from the field. Jefferson, 6-9, has 16 double-doubles on the season, including one in each of his last seven games dating back to Dec. 29. The Duke graduate was recently named to the NBA G League Showcase First Team, averaging 22.5 points, 14.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 65.0% from the field over two contests. Jefferson’s best games include a 28-point, 21-rebound performance Jan. 6 at Texas and 29 points, 15 rebounds and six assists Jan. 10 at Canton (G League Showcase).

The Timberwolves originally signed Jefferson to a training camp contract on Sept. 18, 2017. Jefferson appeared in one preseason game for Minnesota, totaling one rebound in 4:15 of action. Jefferson was waived on October 16, 2017.

Two-way contracts allow teams to sign two players to two-way contracts in addition to the 15-man regular-season roster. Players signed to a two-way contact can accrue no more than 45 days of service with their respective NBA club during the regular season and will spend the remainder of their time with the team’s NBA G League affiliate. Jefferson is the second Timberwolves player to sign a two-way contract, joining Anthony Brown.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have announced the hire of Shawn Parker as the team’s public address announcer. The hire follows an extensive search that drew over 400 interested applicants.

Shawn Parker, a Washington D.C. native, has an extensive sports background and is certified by the National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers (NASPAA). Shawn was most recently the PA announcer at George Washington University and for the Women’s Football Alliance’s three-time national Champion D.C. Divas. He has also been the hockey voice of the 2015 World Police and Fire Games and the 2016 USA Hockey High School National Championships, as well as has experience as a boxing announcer for several D.C.-based champions including world light middleweight champion, Jarrett “Swift” Hurd.

The Minnesota Timberwolves finalized their 2017-18 Opening Night roster on Saturday, October 14 by waiving Amile Jefferson, Melo Trimble and Shawne Williams.

The Wolves open their 29th season of basketball on Wednesday, October 18 at the San Antonio Spurs at 8:30 pm CT. Opening night will be broadcast on ESPN, Fox Sports North and the radio home of the Wolves, 830 WCCO. The team’s home opener is Friday, October 20 vs. the Utah Jazz.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have exercised the fourth-year options on Karl-Anthony Towns and Tyus Jones.

Towns, 21, averaged 25.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game last season, starting all 82 games for the second consecutive year. The 7-0 forward/center set a franchise single-season scoring record with 2061 points while recording 1007 rebounds, becoming the youngest player in NBA history (15th overall and first since Tim Duncan in 2001-02) to collect 2000+ points and 1000+ rebounds in a season. In 2016-17 he ranked 12th in the NBA in scoring, 6th in rebounding, 12th in field goal accuracy (54.2%) and 19th in blocked shots (1.26 bpg). The Wolves selected Towns with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Jones, 21, posted averages of 3.5 points and 2.6 assists in 12.9 minutes per contest in 60 games last season, his second in the NBA. The Wolves originally acquired the draft rights to the 6-2 guard from the Cleveland Cavaliers on June 25, 2015.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have waived Amile Jefferson, Melo Trimble and Shawne Williams.

Jefferson appeared in one preseason game for Minnesota totaling one rebound in four minutes of action. The Wolves originally signed Jefferson on September 18, 2017.

Trimble registered four points and one rebound in his lone appearance this preseason. Trimble was originally signed by the Wolves on September 18, 2017.

Williams was signed by Minnesota on October 13, 2017.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed free agent forward Shawne Williams.

Williams, 31, last played in the NBA in 2014-15, averaging 5.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 63 games for the Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons. In eight NBA seasons, the 6-9 forward has career averages of 5.6 points and 3.0 rebounds in 314 games. Williams was drafted in the first round (17th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. He played his first two seasons with the Pacers and has also seen action with the Dallas Mavericks (2008-10), New York Knicks (2010-11), New Jersey Nets (2011-12) and Los Angeles Lakers (2012-13).

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Andrew Wiggins to a multi-year contract extension.

According to the St Paul Pioneer Press, “Wiggins believes he’s worth the five-year extension worth nearly $150 million he signed with the Timberwolves on Wednesday, which comes into play following this season and theoretically keeps him in Minnesota through the 2022-23 campaign. He thinks his play has warranted that type of deal. The people who matter most tend to agree.”

Wiggins, 22, registered a career-high 23.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 37.2 minutes in 82 games last season, making a career-best 103 three-pointers on a career-high 35.6% shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Wiggins averaged 26.0 points over the final 30 games in 2016-17, including 28.3 ppg in eight April starts. The 6-8 forward registered five 40+ point games a season ago, including a career-best 47-point performance on November 13 vs. the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I’m pleased that we’ve reached an agreement with Andrew on a contract extension,” said Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. “Andrew is one of the best young players in the NBA and he has the talent and work ethic to get even better and be a foundation for our franchise for many years.”

“I’m very excited to continue my career with the Timberwolves,” said Wiggins. “I love it here. The fans and organization have supported me from my first day here in Minnesota. I want to thank Glen Taylor, Tom Thibodeau, the entire coaching staff and my teammates for believing in me. We’ve had some good times over the last three seasons, but the best is yet to come. I look forward to doing right by them and bringing this team to the postseason.”

For his career, Wiggins has played in 245 of a possible 246 games, averaging 20.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 36.2 minutes per game. Only three players (LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony) scored more points before their 22nd birthday and Wiggins’ 4,995 career point total ranks sixth on the Wolves’ all-time scoring list. Wiggins won the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the NBA’s Rookie of the Year following the 2014-15 season in which he averaged 16.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists, becoming the first Wolves player to win Rookie of the Year honors.

“We’re very excited that Andrew has decided to commit his future to the Timberwolves,” said Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Tom Thibodeau. “We feel strongly that he is just scratching the surface of the player he will become. Andrew is among the elite young talents in our league and the sky is the limit for him. We look forward to watching his development in the coming years.”

More from the Pioneer Press: “Wiggins attributed the delay in the deal to the fact he was navigating the final stages of the contract without an agent after he parted ways with his agent, Bill Duffy, in August. Flying solo at the end of the process, Wiggins said he just wanted to take the time to make sure he did things correctly.”

Wiggins was selected first overall in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers and traded to the Wolves on Aug. 23, 2014.